The Lazy D
by Leonaria Dragonbane
Summary: Victor escapes from torture to find a place where he can heal.  She finds the help she so desperately needs.  Can they find a way to work together to save her families legacy.  Victor/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N Damn he's back and full of piss and vinegar. Yes another Victor/OC and not really sure where this one has come from, except I really like horses.

As usual I don't own him or any other Marvel character I happen to pluck off the tree, I do own my OC and the Lazy D is all mine - at least in my head (I could use 1000 acres of ranch land but that's just wishful thinking).

This is a departure for me in several ways. I am looking forward to following it where it leads.

Chapter 1

She heard the motorcycle come up the drive behind her as she pulled the coral gate shut. She pulled the barbed wire latch over the top and turned. The man on the bike looked haggard, tired and she knew the type. Drifter, looking for a meal, willing to work a bit for a place to rest and something to eat. That was about all she had to offer at the moment, the ranch wasn't doing as well this year and money was tight.

"Can I help you?" She said as he shut the bike down and climbed off.

"I'm lookin for the owner." He said, his voice hoarse from disuse and road dust.

"That'd be me."

"I was wonderin, could you use a hand, I know my way around a ranch." He stood there, hands buried in his long duster's pockets.

"I can't afford to pay hands at the moment. All I can offer you is a place to bunk in the bunkhouse and three squares a day." She dusted her hands off on her jeans and took a good hard look at him. His clothes were worn, he had several holes in his jeans, and his shirt was pretty ragged too. His eyes were dark, filled with pain and something else she couldn't put a name on at the moment.

"That'd be fine with me." He said.

"Okay - bunk house is over there, you can go get in the fridge for supper. I've got too much to do today to cook." She reached a hand out to him. "Kathy Davis, Lazy D ranch."

He seemed to cringe as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and took hers. "Victor Creed." She noticed the fingernails immediately, and shook his hand. She didn't care if he was from Mars, she had a mare about to drop a foal and was afraid it was going to be breach. If he could work those hands up inside without hurting the foal, and if he knew how to turn a baby, she needed his help.

"Know anything about foaling a mare?"

"Done it a few times."

"The red bay, she's about to drop, foal hasn't turned right. You ever turned one?"

"Yep...a few times."

"Okay, go introduce yourself. Her name's Dixie...stay with her while I go call the vet."

He nodded and she turned toward the main house. Something told her to be wary of him but right now she needed the help. She'd had too many accidents, and she needed this foal alive.

XXXXX

He watched her jeans clad ass as she walked to the house. She shouldn't live alone out here, there were a lot of unscrupulous people that would take advantage of an ass like that. He grinned at his own thought, just a few weeks ago, he'd have been one of them. Right now, all he wanted was someplace to rest and hide. Too much had happened too quickly and he needed to get his head around what was going on inside him. He took off the duster and lay it across the seat of the bike.

He turned to the barn and opened the door. Inside one of the stalls was the red bay, she was heaving on the ground and he could see the foal moving around inside her skin. The woman - Kathy - had said the foal hadn't turned and she was right, he could see the impression of the head against the mother's side. He grabbed a pair of gloves and pulled them on carefully to avoid cutting them with his claws. He touched the horse gently and she just snorted at him. He'd always been amazed that most animals feared him, but horses just treated him like any other person. He kept one hand on her back as he moved to her rear. There was a bucket of animal lubricant near the birthing blanket Kathy must have laid down for her. He soaked his free hand in the bucket, and brushed Dixie's tail aside.

He clamped his hand tight and eased it into the horse's opening, avoiding a weak kick as he tried to find the foal's rear feet. He let out a moan of pain as her body clamped down during a contraction and waited until it eased. He was hoping to do an easy turn, get the foal into position and let the mother just do what came naturally, but the damned foal wasn't cooperating. He'd get one leg, and it would move the other one out of his reach, at one point it presented its head to the birth canal and he knew that would be death for the damned thing so he had to let go of the foot he had hold of and push the head back the other way. He was sweating like a pig, but he'd done this more than a few times in his life and knew patience was the only way to save them both.

He finally got the foal into position, feet eased into the birth canal when the barn door opened again and she came in with another man.

"Over here, Dr. Lemons." She was saying.

"I got it." Victor said, as the foal's legs eased out with the contraction. "Stubborn pain in the ass, but I got it turned." He peeled off the glove and knew he'd have to find a shirt, this one was covered in birth fluids and blood.

The foal dropped to the ground behind them and the mother eased herself up onto her feet, licking the birth sack off the baby, and nudging it to stand. The vet was examining them both, and he grinned at the soft whicker from the foal as it looked for a teat.

"Thank you." She said softly, and he smelled a deep relief from her.

He just nodded and walked to the barn door while the vet finished examining the horses. He walked to the bike and grabbed his saddle bags and duster. He headed to the bunk house she'd indicated earlier and opened the door. Inside, he dropped his load on the bed in a room toward the front. He opened the bags and pulled out a clean pair of jeans, not in much better shape than the ones he was wearing, and a ragged long-sleeved shirt. He laid them on the bed, kicked off his boots, and turned to the only other door in the room. It lead into a small bathroom with a shower and he turned on the water. He peeled off the shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. His torso was scared, red welts crossing over and over, his healing barely had the skin closed. He knew that meant he had internal injuries that needed healed first, but he wasn't used to being this weak. He unfastened the jeans and slipped them down his equally scarred legs and stepped into the hot water. It stung the welts and he winced as he rinsed the blood and birth fluids from his body. It had hurt like hell reaching into that horse, the bone in that arm wasn't fully set and all he wanted to do right now was lay down on that bed and sleep. Food would be nice, and she'd promised him a meal.

He grabbed a thin towel and dried off, before going into the bedroom. On the bed were different clothes, a clean pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. His ragged things were gone. There was a slip of paper with that sticky stuff on the back stuck to the shirt.

_These should fit, you're about the size my father was. Food's in the fridge, I've got to go into town to get the money to pay the vet. I'll be back later. Thank you, again, Kathy._

He pulled on the jeans, they were a little shorter than he liked, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the feel of clean denim on his skin. The shirt was a good fit too, the arms were too short but he just rolled them up. He pulled on his boots and headed out the door. The main house was across the farmyard and he took a good scent as he passed. He could smell alfalfa growing in a field, but it was almost too old to bale, there was a small chicken coop with a rooster and a few hens, a pig pen with a sow and a few piglets and the horses in the coral. He smelled the stale smell of cattle, but they hadn't been around in years, same with sheep, there was even a sheering coral set up near the main house. There was a tractor in a shed, but the disks on the haying platform were rusted, as were the conditioners. There were several bales of hay near the barn, stacked up as if they'd been delivered, and he wondered why she was buying hay.

He walked over to the tractor and took a sniff. No fuel for one thing, he popped the hood on the engine compartment, cracked distributor cap...corroded wires...and the smell of sugar told him someone had sugared the tank. He looked around and saw an old tool box against the wall. Sugared gas was a mess to clean up after, but there was no reason not to do it. He was under the tractor pulling the tank when he heard a truck pull in.

"That old thing hasn't run in three years." She said as she slammed the truck door. He smelled frustration, anger, tears and resignation as she walked into the shed.

"Nothin' a little clean-up won't fix. Thanks for the clothes." He said as he pushed himself from under the frame.

"I picked up some more, and under things...I didn't know if you had any or not."

"Thanks again." He muttered taking the blue plastic bags from her. He couldn't imagine wearing tighty whities right now, they'd hurt too damned much.

"I'm going to warm up beans, if you're hungry." She said.

"Thank you...damn I'm sayin' that a lot." He laughed. "I'll be in as soon as I put these away." She smiled and turned toward the house.

"Don't get any ideas." She said.

"I won't. You don't know how much I appreciate this." She just nodded, and he walked back to the bunk house.

_"That is it. Scream. Louder. No one will hear you, No one will care. You are a monster the world wants rid of, and I'm going to give the world what it wants, one scream at a time." _

_He flinched as the whip ripped into his back again. He wasn't giving this bastard the satisfaction, until the metal barbs ripped the skin off his back again, even his will couldn't keep the scream from his throat. _

_They'd caught him unaware - used a whore to lay a trap for him. He'd killed three before they subdued him with some sort of drug. It had been agony in his system, and it had only been after three days of torture that he'd realized it had been a diluted version of the Cure, just enough to subdue his healing factor, not enough to shut it off completely. All his senses were subdued, less than normal, but still there._

_They'd cut his balls off first, then his cock...then started using the whip on him, barbed piece of shit. He breathed slowly as the pain receded. He had no idea how long they were going to keep this up. _

He started awake, one hand gripping his groin. It was back, just a limp piece of flesh still, but it had grown back slowly. He wasn't sure what was worse, the torture - or the pain of re-growing what they'd taken off - and out. He'd only laid down on the bed for a moment, just to rest, but the stars were already in the sky outside the curtain less window. He smelled food and looked over at the table. A pot, a plate and a glass of dark tea were sitting there with another note.

_You looked like you needed the sleep. Food will keep._


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sun woke him and he groaned, rolling over. He was barely covered by the thin blanket on the bed, his tossing and turning had most of it bunched at the foot of the mattress. He let out an anguished moan, and slowly sat up. Pain was becoming a constant for him, but this morning was worse than most. His bladder was full, and that was pressing against where his intestines were trying to re-grow. He put his feet on the floor and hobbled to the bathroom. He just hoped the plumbing was working right this morning, the last week had been agony trying to void his bladder through a half grown cock.

He bit his lip, trying not to scream as he pissed bloody urine into the toilet. He didn't know how much longer he was going to take the constant pain without putting a gun to his head and ending it all. A full stomach last night had helped though, the pain wasn't as bad this morning as it had been, he flexed his left arm, feeling along the length of the forearm trying to tell where the break was. He couldn't feel it anymore, which meant the marrow wasn't seeping into his bloodstream. His eyes weren't quite as yellow, in the mirror, and he sighed at that. His liver seemed to be functioning properly again, as well as the new kidney he'd had to re-grow.

He took mental stock of where he seemed to be in regenerating his body. The liver had been punctured by a rib and that seemed to be functioning again, his stomach had handled dinner last night so the tear in it seemed to be fixed. Both lungs seemed to be working properly, the left one had collapsed on him and he'd had to use a claw and a straw from a damned juice box to re-inflate it a week ago. His skin was still raw from the whips and not all of his muscle had re-grown on his back. He was thin, thinner than he'd ever been. He could count his ribs - even the broken ones, and his hips stuck out, he ran one claw over the bump in the curve of one. He was going to have to re-break that so it would heal straight when his damned factor was back full force. He wasn't looking forward to that at all.

He looked at his claws, and struggled to extend them. They didn't move and he let out a low snarl. This shit better wear off soon. He could hear whinnys and nickers from the barn and turned on the water in the shower. He had a foal to check on, a tractor to fix and somehow get into town to get what he needed to get the old shoeing forge up and working so he could replace some thrown shoes. There was hay that needed cutting and animals to be fed...including him. He was pulling on his boots when he heard what sounded like a bell. He listened closely and heard Kathy calling his name...and a word he desperately needed, breakfast.

He rushed the boots onto his feet and was still tucking his shirt in as he crossed the yard.

"Morning." She said as she dropped the stick next to the old dinner triangle. "Haven't had to use that in years." She was smiling guardedly.

"Mornin'" He said as she led him into the kitchen of the main house. There were two plates on the hardwood table, his was heaped with eggs and sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy. Hers was almost as full.

"You were hungry last night." She grinned. He'd left the empty pot of beans on the back porch of the main house.

"Yeah...been a while since my last good meal." He said as he sat down at the table. They ate in silence and he started to relax a little.

As he was scraping his plate into the slop pail, he said "Gonna try to get that tractor running today, I may have to go into town for some parts."

"Can't afford parts. If you can't get it running, don't worry about it. There's a coral fence that needs repaired, the roof on the barn is leaking, after we get the animals fed, if you could start on that, I'd appreciate it."

He nodded. He was still going into town to pick up supplies. It wasn't money that was his problem, it was safety and peace to heal and he'd found that. Money was no object to him helping her, "Still need to go to town. Kathy."

"Fine, if you do here's a grocery list and there's money on the counter for it." She pulled a list out of her jeans pocket and handed it to him. He grinned at her and nodded. He put the list in his pocket and picked up the thirty five dollars and fifty three cents from the counter. She must know exactly what everything cost down to the last penny.

She picked up the slop bucket and headed out the back door. He walked behind her and grabbed a bag of chicken feed and headed for the coop.

XXXXXXXXXXX

She watched him with the chickens, they ran from him, but came back as the grain landed on the ground. They were still spooked, but not overly upset. She slopped the pigs, wishing she had more to give them, she picked up a bag of feed near the barn and added it to the slop. She hated buying feed, but her own food budget was getting tight and it would be hard for her leftovers to keep the pigs alive if she couldn't afford leftovers.

She started filling feedbags for the horses. They had hay in the stalls but with winter coming on she wanted to make sure they got oats at least once a day. She heard him talking to Dixie and looked over. He was squatted down in the stall, talking to the mare while petting the foal. She was very pleased with that foal, the sire was one of her good quarter horses, and she was hoping he'd be a racer like his father. She had three potential buyers if he showed good traits. She had three more almost ready to sell, but he could pay for feed around the ranch for a year, to the right buyer.

They finished feeding the horses quietly and he started up the ladder to the hayloft to check the roof. She went out to the coral to look at the temporary fix she'd put on the broken boards two days ago. They were still in place, but even one of the foals could knock it down with little effort and get out.

"Kathy, I'll take care of that in a bit, I'm checking to see what we need for the roof." He shouted down from the loft window.

"There should be shingles in the shed, with the tractor, I hope there's enough, that damned wind storm three days ago tore a lot off." She shouted up.

"More than that, we've got damaged wood up here, gonna have to replace a whole section."

"Do what you can with what we have on hand, I can't afford extra wood right now."

He nodded and looked like he was going to jump down from the window, but changed his mind and went back inside. She shrugged and went back to the fence.

Several hours later, she heard the motor cycle rev up and the gravel of the driveway shift under the tires as he headed out. She hoped he'd stick exactly to the list, if he didn't he'd be short on cash. She didn't want to think about the eight hundred dollars for the vet...or the loan she'd had to take out to pay him. She couldn't afford to borrow any more money without putting the ranch itself up and she'd promised her father to never do that.

She'd had several offers over the last few years, mostly from Darla Johnson over at the Flying J, trying to buy up her thousand acres, but she refused to sell. She still had enough to keep the horses, and didn't want to give up on her father and grandfather's dream. She set the last board into the fence, and looked up at the afternoon sun. He'd been gone quite a while, and she was hoping she hadn't run him off when she heard a truck pulling up in the drive. She walked through the barn, wiping her hands on her jeans, wondering who was pulling in. She didn't have very many visitors this far out.

He stepped down from the truck, no sign of the bike, and the rear of the truck was full of bags - things she knew that the ranch needed but she couldn't afford.

"Where'd you get all that?"

"I figured a truck would be better than the bike, especially with what needs done around here so I sold it." She looked at him in shock. "Managed to get the parts for the tractor, wood for the barn roof, new shingles, no those recycled things in the shed, and fresh boards for the fence, that piece of dry rot won't hold ten minutes against these horses." He pointed to her repair. She wasn't sure if she should thank him or kill him. She didn't need to owe anyone else any money, and he'd sold his bike to help her out.

"I can't afford to pay you for this." She said, hands on her hips.

"I know. I ain't worried about. Money isn't an issue for me, what I need is the peace and a place to rest and heal." A look of intense pain crossed his face and he gripped the open door of the truck, seemingly holding himself up.

"Heal? What's wrong?"

"Nothin' ta worry about, just not healin as fast as I used to." He pulled himself back upright and reached into his pocket. "Here's the grocery money back, I paid for those too." She shook her head and refused to take it.

"No, thank you, but no. I can't afford any of this, and I can't take your money...it was your bike..."

He just shrugged, put the money back in his pocket, and started unloading the back of the truck. She watched his face, every wince of pain causing her worry and making her more curious. She walked over and took the grocery bags from him.

"Go rest, I'll unload this."

"I got it." He started to protest, but toppled over. She dropped the bags and turned to help him. "Damn it." he muttered as he tried to sit back up.

"Victor, I don't know what's wrong, but let me help." She slipped an arm under his shoulder to try to help him to his feet but he actually whimpered, and then snarled at her like a wounded animal.

"Sorry, that hurt." He muttered as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Please, let me help you."

"You already have, more than you know. Right now I need food, lots of it, and rest, and peace and quiet, and I'll be back on my feet soon."

"Is it your mutation, is that what's hurting?" She didn't know much about mutants, but didn't care that he was one.

"No...I've got something they call a healing factor, I heal quick usually, but someone hit me with a drug that slowed it down...and then decided I'd make a nice punching bag and whipping post for a few days." He growled.

"Who would do that?" She insisted on him leaning on her as she walked him to the bunk house.

"Friends of Humanity, I think. I didn't get names, just escaped as quick as I could, and hit the road. As soon as I got someplace to access my accounts I bought the bike, and just headed west. Been traveling about a week." He dropped on the bed and she noticed blood on his jeans leg.

"You're bleeding. Let me go to the house and get some bandages."

"Na..its just a scratch really, scraped it on a nail in the loft this morning."

"And its been bleeding all this time?"

"Its not bad, really..." He laid back and she glared, and pulled the work knife out of her pocket and opened it and cut the jeans leg so she could see. If that wasn't BAD she didn't want to know what he considered bad.

"You stay right there, I'm getting the first aid kit and I hope you've had a tetanus shot." She snapped at him.

XXXXXXX

Stupid frail was worried about a tetanus shot...it was just a scratch, and he never had to worry about any of that crap anyway. He just put one arm over his head, wincing as the fabric of the shirt rubbed over the raw scars on his back. He was just damned tired.

He nearly came up off the bed as she poured some foul smelling shit over his leg, it burned like hell, and woke him out of a sound sleep. His fingernails ached to extend his claws but they just wouldn't move. He felt the whimper and hoped it didn't escape his lips. The needle in his arm shocked him more than the damned disinfectant she'd used.

"Good thing I keep boosters around" She said as she pulled the needle out..."human takes about half the dose of a horse." He glared at her, then shrugged. He didn't need medicine, boosters or otherwise, he just needed time to heal. "I'm going to have to stitch this, the butterfly's won't hold it closed, its too big."

He grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Please, just get me some food, and it will get better. I just need to eat."

She reached for the table and handed him a large ham and cheese sandwich, loaded with sweet sugar cured ham and sharp cheddar cheese. He groaned as he took a bite, it tasted like heaven and he finished it quickly. He watched her face as she watched the wound in his leg, he could feel it knitting together. He knew it wouldn't heal all the way, but it would stop bleeding.

"Well, I guess I need to fix a big dinner." He expected her to run in fear, tremble, but no, this frail - woman kept surprising him. He watched her dark green eyes, still glued to the wound in his calf.

"That might help." He chuckled.

"I...what can I do to help you."

"Feed me, let me rest when I need to, and just let me heal." She just nodded this time, and handed him a second sandwich. He grinned at her and took another bite.

It took three sandwiches to get him back on his feet and unload the truck. The parts for the tractor he stacked on the old tool box the wood and shingles he stacked to one side of the barn. Her repair would hold overnight, especially since there was weather moving in and the horses needed to be inside. He pulled out two tarps he'd bought and the collapsible ladder and climbed up and secured the tarps on the roof to make sure it didn't leak in the storm.

"Check the lightning rod while you're up there, the last thing we need is a fire tonight." She shouted up at him. He nodded and worked his way to the middle of the barn. The rod was loose, but the grounding wire was still attached so he tightened it up and then worked back to the ladder and down to the ground. The storm clouds were moving in and he stepped off the ladder as the first drops of rain started to hit. She was herding the pigs into the shelter in the pen, and the chickens had already retreated to the coop. The horses were stalled and there wasn't much he could do until the rain past.

"Dinner should be just about ready..." She said as she walked back across the yard. He followed her, and even remembered to wipe his feet before walking into the kitchen.

"Thank..." He started, and she just glared at him, fire flashing in her green eyes and he winced at the lack of reaction from his neither regions.

"I'm sick of thank you. How long do you think you will need?"

"A month, maybe two...depends on how much needs done around here." He was trying hard to stay civil, part of him wanted to snarl and snap at her, but that part was much quieter than usual and his human brain realized she was helping him, she had no reason to do so, and he'd never had anyone be good to him - not without a reason.

"I was hoping you could stay through the winter." She pulled a roasting pan out of the oven and opened the lid. The heavenly aroma of roasted chicken and vegetables distracted him from what she was saying...She'd roasted two whole chickens, and his stomach growled.

"Keep cooking like that - and you won't be able to shake me off with a stick." He grinned as she plated up a whole chicken for him.

"Well - I don't have anyone to cook for anymore since Dad died. I miss it." She smiled back at him, cutting a leg quarter off of the second bird and putting it on her plate. He realized that he liked her smile. It made her eyes lighten. He still wasn't quite sure what color her hair was, she kept it up in a bun on the back of her head, it was dark but it could be anywhere from bright red to dark chestnut the way she kept it bound tightly to her head, not a single strand escaping. He knew she didn't use hairspray or shit like that, he'd smell it, even her soap wasn't floral, just a plain unscented lye, knowing her probably home made so she didn't have to buy it.

"You can cook for me." He gave her what had been called a puppy dog look, eyes wide, and he even batted his eyelashes at her which made her laugh. "I would swear I died and went to heaven...except for the damned pain and other issues."

"Issues?"

"Nothin...well, maybe...shit." He growled.

She just looked at him puzzled.

"They did things, not just beating me in there...and I'm kinda having to...re-grow parts of my body, if ya know what I mean." He felt his cheeks flush and hoped she couldn't see it under the wind tan from the road.

"OH!"

He wasn't sure if the relief he smelled was a good thing or not, but right now he couldn't do anything to change her mind...and wasn't sure he wanted to, his idea of changing her mind would involve pain and agony and after everything she'd done to help him that was the last thing either part of him wanted to do.


	3. Chapter 3

He'd been there about two weeks, and they'd developed a routine of him coming in for breakfast, then sharing the barnyard chores, feeding the animals, eat a quick lunch, and then each of them work on their own projects. She spent the afternoon training yearlings, getting them used to the track and for those that she was training as posters getting them used to the dog cart. She'd been surprised when she saw him putting the old forge together and very grateful as he'd replaced every worn and thrown shoe in the herd.

She had twenty horses, twenty-one with the new foal, a mixed bag of Quarter horses, Percheron and mixed breed Arabians, each one set for a different set of training. She had a quarter horse dirt track, two carts to train to harness and a small jousting field, even though she hadn't had to train a jouster in years. She had two mares coming in this week from a stud farm where she'd sent them to breed, Percherons both, and she already had a buyer for a pair of cart horses for one of the big theme parks, once she got them trained.

"Heading into town, I need some more shoes and coal." He said from the fence of the pacing coral. She had one of the Quarters on the lead and was clocking pace.

"How much more is that going to set me back?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the horse on the lead.

"I've still got money from the sale of the bike." He said, she hadn't even heard him move but he was right behind her.

"I really don't want to owe you any more..." She started.

"Kathy..." He reached out and took the watch from her hand, turning her to face him. "I need you to understand somethin'. I ain't had anyone in my life who's been good to me, not like this, I consider it a fair trade for what you've been doin ta help me. Let me help you; I won't take no for an answer." He growled the last at her.

She glared at him and pulled the reign on the horse on the lead slowing it down. "You're going to have to learn." She muttered.

"Like hell. Swallow your pride, woman, I'm gonna help." He had put on a little weight, he was still weak, resting some in the afternoon, and eating like three men. "Please." She didn't think he used that word very often.

"I just don't..."

"ENOUGH! I'm gonna do it like it or not." He snarled, clenching his hands at his sides.

"Fine...I just don't have to LIKE it." She shouted back. "I'm not used to having anyone willing to help, I've been doing this on my own since Dad died."

"Why? You are a fine looking woman...good heart, nice ass, any man would be lucky ta get you - and this place." She looked at him with a start, nice ass?

"I'd rather not discuss it." She turned to un-harness the horse.

"Kathy, what happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it, go get your supplies." She picked up the curry comb from the ground and started brushing the grey's coat. She heard his boots as he walked away and she waited until he was gone before she leaned one arm against the side of the animal and rested her head against it, letting the tears flow.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Damned woman was a pain in his ass. The first and only time he'd ever wanted to help someone without hurting them and she wouldn't let him. He wasn't lying, she had a nice ass, one that, if he'd been at his peak, he'd have taken advantage of, willing or not, but now, having gotten to know her, have her accept him without reservations, and not being able to act on the attraction he felt, he wouldn't hurt her.

He stopped at the truck, the faint scent of her tears drifted to him from the coral but he didn't think she'd want to know he knew she was crying. Damned woman...not frail, not if she'd been taking care of this place all alone, but definitely a woman, one that needed a man around - to take care of, she was one of those damned nurturers, that normally drove him insane, but now it was what he needed, and what she needed.

He knew something had happened to her, at some point. From her relief when she'd found out he was unable to act on anything physically, her reaction to him telling her she had a nice ass, and several small reactions to accidental touches when they were working told him she'd been hurt, badly, by someone in the past. She never took her hair down that he'd ever seen, always wore long sleeved flannel shirts and jeans. He'd never seen her in anything feminine or frilly, he doubted she even owned a skirt. Her shirts were always buttoned to the neck, but then again so were his, he knew what he had to hide, though.

He started the truck, and pulled down the driveway to the newly repaired gate. He'd opened it this morning, knowing he was going into town, and he'd close it tonight before they went to bed. He'd fibbed a bit, letting her think he'd paid for things out of the sale of the bike. He'd discovered that his usual bank had a branch in this small town, which gave him access to most of his accounts. He knew they were going to need more livestock but not before winter. The feed was barely enough with winter forage for the horses to make it and he was planning on augmenting it a bit. He needed some new disks for the haying platform and seed for spring for a hay field so they wouldn't have to buy feed next year.

He'd made up his mind, at some point, that he was staying. It was a good place, peaceful, very little reason for his animal to feel threatened like he was in towns and cities. He could take care of the blood lust by hunting, once his abilities were back to normal. He parked the truck in front of the bank and climbed out. A woman with jet black hair and light chocolate skin, came out of the bank doorway and walked straight toward him

"Glad I caught you. You're working out at the Lazy D?" She asked. Something about her, especially her scent was strangely familiar. He'd smelled it around the tractor, old but still there, a sure sign his senses were getting closer to normal. That tractor had been sabotaged almost three years ago.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" He growled as he tried to pass her to go into the bank.

"Well, I can sure use a good hand over at the Flying J. I pay room and board and one thousand dollars a month." She held her hand out to him, he ignored it. "Darla Johnson."

"Sorry, ain't interested." He snarled.

"Well, think it over. And let Kathy know my offer is still open." She turned, walking down the street and he took a deep breath, memorizing her scent. Maybe he wouldn't have to hunt, just take out bitches like that who messed with his angel. He shook his head, trying to figure out when he'd started thinking of her as an angel as he walked to the counter, wallet in hand.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The barely old enough to work frail behind the counter asked.

"Just need ta pull some cash." He said, handing her his account card. He needed to call the accountant and just have him overnight him a bundle or two, but he didn't want Kathy knowing he was paying for more than she thought, yet. He'd managed to track down all the places she'd pawned things, and buy up everything she'd pawned for money, she'd won a gold medal in the Olympics in dressage, and pawned it for three hundred dollars.

"Certainly, Mr. Creed." The girl punched his account number into the computer, and he watched as she went from pleasant to puzzled. "I'm sorry Mr. Creed, there appears to be a problem with your account."

"Problem..." She nodded. He could see a reflection of the screen in the drive through window behind her, but he couldn't make out the letters of the agency that had frozen his account. "Let me give you the letters, you just nod when I hit the one that put that nice red bar across my cash." He bit back the snarl, smiling instead. Someone had said you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, maybe it was time he tried it, especially if he planned on being around here for long.

"I'm sorry, I can't..."

"I have a good idea, just let me guess." He grinned. She blushed and nodded, looking at the camera behind her. "FBI? CIA? ATF? DHS? SHIELD?" She jumped when he said SHIELD. Well, this would be easier to solve than he thought. He held up his finger and pulled out his cell phone.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Fury?" He snarled into the phone.

"Hello, Victor, I was hoping you'd call. What the hell are you doing out in Montana?" Fury's false joviality told Victor that the man wasn't alone.

"Trying to access my accounts. FIX IT!" He snapped, just short of a roar.

"I need a favor first." Fury said

"NO! Just fix it, I'm retired."

"You'll never retire, you will always need the blood fix." The joviality dropped, which means whomever had been with him was gone, or he didn't care if they knew what was going on.

"I'm retired, takin up ranchin', now release my account, and don't tell me you can't you run the damned agency."

"I'll stop by and we can talk about this favor I need, the Lazy D ranch right? Nice woman runs that place, I sure hope nothing's happened to her."

"She was fine when I left. If anything happens to her while I'm gone, I'm comin' after you Fury."

"We'll talk...soon, enjoy your money." The dial tone in his ear pissed him off.

"Check that again, honey." He smiled at the teller. She re-input his account number and he could see the red bar was gone.

"How much do you need?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at him. He could smell her interest and had a pretty good idea what was going through her mind, he knew the head of a federal agency, well enough to call on his personal cell phone, he had to be a spy or something.

"Five thousand...no make it ten." He said. She jumped at the amount.

"I will have to get my manager." She said.

"That's fine, honey." He waited while she went to get the manager, who keyed in the approval for the money. He knew they'd fill out the federal paperwork later after he left. She counted out the money, and he picked it up, wrapped a rubber band around it and stuck the brick in the pocket of his jeans.

"One more thing, does Kathy have any outstanding loans here at the bank?" He asked the manager.

"Two, and the payments are late, I was going to call her this afternoon."

"How much does she owe?"

"I'm sorry I can't tell you that information."

"Can you tell me what the payment is, so I can make it? She asked me to take care of it while I was in town."

"Three hundred fifty dollars for both loans." The manager said.

He did a quick calculation in his head and picked up one of the courtesy checks off the counter. He wrote it quickly, putting in his account number and the amount he estimated the total loans were for.

"That should pay them both off." He said simply, and turned and walked toward the door. "If it doesn't, I'll find out and pay the balance next time I'm in town." He growled over his shoulder as he opened the door. He smiled as he climbed into the truck. No mortgage on the ranch, but she'd hocked everything she owned and her good name to take care of that ranch, and he wasn't about to let her do that anymore. He put the truck in gear and headed to the farm and ranch supply.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

She had dinner ready when he pulled up in front of the bunk house. The back of the truck was loaded down with feed bags, another box of horse shoes, coal for the forge and behind him was a farm diesel truck to fill up the tank near the tractor shed. She just shook her head, and set the table, putting the huge pot roast in the middle of the table. At least he'd bought groceries to help with feeding his two hollow legs. She'd finished brushing out the grey and put him in the paddock with the other horses who were enjoying the unseasonably warm weather outside.

She didn't like to think about the things she'd given up, willingly or not, in her life, and a husband and children to pass the ranch on to was one of those things. She knew she still had time, but she just didn't know if she was capable, physically, of the intimacies that would require. She didn't like to think about her junior year of high school, the poor judgment she'd displayed going to that party...three guys had been involved, and she'd been in so much pain after the rape, she still felt phantom pain from it at times, almost twenty years later. After that she'd concentrated on the horses. They didn't judge her, they didn't try to make her talk about it, they just accepted her.

Her parents had been so proud when she'd made the Olympic team, her one claim to fame, but it had opened a hundred doors in the horse world, and even though she couldn't seem to run a damned cattle ranch without running it into the ground, she was a world renowned horse trainer, and had pride in what she was able to do.

He came in the door carrying grocery bags and she put them on the counter, without saying a word, putting the perishables away quickly while he fixed his plate. She sat down at her place and put some meat and vegetables on her plate, not wanting to look at him, not wanting him to see the shame, the anger at her self for not being able to admit she found him attractive. He was scruffy, yes, with those old fashioned mutton chop sideburns and hair that rarely saw a comb, but as his body healed he was fleshing out, he hadn't seen her watching him at the forge...the only time he took his shirt off, watching his lean muscle move over his bones as he sized the shoes for the horses.

It wasn't that she didn't find men attractive, she just didn't think any man would ever find her attractive, so she never let anyone know she was interested, that and she wasn't sure she'd be able to respond if she did.

"Kathy, enough, please!" He finally snapped.

She looked up at him and his face was full of pain. "What?"

"I can smell you...Jesus Christ, woman, I'm not ABLE to respond okay, that don't mean my body don't TRY and it HURTS!"

She just looked at him speechless...smell?

"You're hurting about something, you're definitely aroused, and ashamed of it, and pissed off about something." He said matter of factly as he took a bite of meat.

"You can smell all that?" She asked, picking at her plate.

"Yes...just like I can smell that bitch from the Flying J does her own sabotage work, and that you've not actually done anything about being aroused in a very very long time, hell I don't thing you even take care of it yourself." He muttered, half snarling at her.

"Darla, what the hell does she have to do with anything?" She said, latching on to something else to talk about.

"I ran into her at the bank today, she offered me a job." He took another bite of meat. She felt the tears welling in the back of her eyes and was startled by his chair slamming back from the table, and his hands yanking her up out of her chair, pulling her against his chest.

"Christ, woman, I swear you got more tears than you need." He growled.

"I can't afford to pay you what she can..." She started, her head tucked down against his shirt.

"I told her to fuck herself, okay." He reached between them and put a finger under her chin, urging her to look up at him. "I don't need money, woman, when are you going to get that through your head. I'm here because I want to be, and if you don't get this shit under control, I'm gonna have to show you there's more to sex than a damned cock." His lips took possession of hers and she froze, a torrent of emotions surging through her body, emotions she'd never allowed herself to even imagine.

She let herself be guided in the kiss, moaning against him as he pressed her body against his. She finally allowed her self to release his shirt and slip her arms around his neck at his urgings.

"That's more like it." He whispered as she leaned her head against his chest, breathless. "Now I'm hungry." He let her go and picked up his chair, setting it back at the table, and sat back down.

She smiled, and sat down at her place.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like to talk about the past." She finally whispered.

"My guess is rape, and young." He said softly. She nodded. "Never even considered anything after that did ya?"

"It hurt so much, I..." She blushed, pushing food around on her plate.

"Depends on the guy, but pain don't have to be a part of it." He said.

"Well there were three..." She couldn't believe she was talking to him about this.

"Oh...shit." He dropped his fork and looked at her. "Yeah, that would definitely make it difficult."

"No offense," She started to get angry again, "but how the hell would you know?"

"I do." She saw the pain across his face, and suddenly the anger was gone. He said they'd done more than beat on him, but she'd never considered that.

XXXXXXXXXX

They were both in the house, the dark figure slipped through the farm yard, barely disturbing any of the livestock. The dogs had been taken care of last year, now it was time to up the stakes. The timers were set quickly and the dark figure slipped out of the yard.


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing she noticed was smoke that was what woke her, the smell of smoke. She started to sit up but something heavy held her down.

"Don't move I just got comfortable, and it's taking a bit for these burns to heal." He growled in her ear. He growled louder as she sat up and turned on the light to look at him. His back was blistered over old scars, the shirt singed pieces of fabric stuck to the burns. The smoldering saddlebags from the bike were sitting in the corner of her room and the window was open, the smell of fresh hay smoke making her jump between him and the window.

"The damned fires are out, please, I just wanted to be close to you for a minute before I went back down stairs and fixed me something to eat." He snarled at her.

"What fires?" She turned on him.

"There were three incendiaries, one here at the house, I found it and disarmed it, about the time I got that done, the second and third went off. The second was in the feed hay near the barn, the third was attached to the bunk house. I managed to save the barn, but the bunk house was a total loss, I got burned getting my bags, but that was all I could save." He had sat up and was sitting on the side of the bed, his back to her at the window. She flinched as she watched the burns slowly trying to heal.

"Thank you…were any horses hurt? She asked as she picked up the first aid kit to try to do something to help his back.

'NO! The horses are fucking fine…when is it gonna sink into your head, someone tried to fucking kill both of us." He roared as he turned and his eyes were pitch black, his canines extended into fangs and his fingernails scraped against the sheet on the bed.

"Victor, let me bandage your back and then I'll fix you something to eat to help you heal."

"KATHY! That BITCH nearly killed you – hell probably woulda killed me, and that ain't normally easy, and all you're worried about is my fucking BACK and the damned HORSES!" He slammed her back against the wall next to the window, hands pinning her by her shoulders. She whimpered a flash to being held down by…and suddenly she was free.

"SHIT! I ain't gonna hurt you, you're the absolute last person I want to hurt." He pulled her against him, hands slipping around and molding her body to his. "But someone wants to, and from the smell on the bomb I disarmed, its that bitch from the Flying J."

"I don't understand, why would Darla want to hurt you, I mean we've been rivals for years, but I don't understand her trying to…" Her mind seemed to shudder at the thought. "But we need to get you something to eat, you're hurt."

"Fine, we'll go down, you can fix me somethin' to eat and we'll talk." He gripped her arm firmly, but gently, she could feel the scrape of his nails through the long sleeves of her long flannel nightgown. He reached down as they passed the door of her room and grabbed his saddle bags.

She went straight to the kitchen as soon as they hit the bottom of the stairs. In the refrigerator was the left over pot roast and she sliced of large pieces to put on bread, she made him three large sandwiches and put them on a plate, grabbed a bottle of beer and took the food to him on the sofa in front of the fire place. He'd started a small fire, the lower level of the house was cool, and getting colder as the night progressed - either that or she was in shock.

She sat on the end of the sofa, and pulled her legs up under the long gown, shivering. He popped open the beer and glanced at her. He set the plate and beer bottle on the table, and stood up, grabbing a blanket off the back of one of the chairs and wrapping it around her shoulders. He knelt on the floor, and put one finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"No one is gonna hurt you, Darlin' ya have to trust me on that." He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers.

"I'm more worried you'll get hurt because of me." She whispered.

"I ain't sure where to start, that comment has me almost wantin' you to start first, but I think you need to understand a few things first." He stood up and went back to his sandwiches. She watched as some of the smaller blisters on his back started to disappear, his healing was working fast. She wondered how fast it was normally. She'd heard of powerful mutants who could heal damage to any part of her body. She even had a friend that had one working with her. That same friend had also been threatened by one, but for the life of her Kathy couldn't remember the names of either one, just that they sounded like animals.

"Shit. I'm just gonna have to start at the beginning." He said as he sat down. His hair was still singed in spots, bald scalded spots healing as she watched. "I was born in 1830. I told you my real name, Victor Creed. My ma and pa weren't married, and she died when I was born so I was raised by my father. He was a gardener on an estate up north." He took another large bite of the sandwich in his hands. "He hated me, I think he blamed me for my ma's death, beating was when he was in a good mood. I hated him just as much and spent most of my time hiding, or helpin' out at the big house. See they had a kid, sick little thing, but he was really my half brother. My pa told me in one of his drunken rages."

He stopped and finished that sandwich, she just rocked, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. The concept of him being that old was starting to sink in. "You really did learn ranching the old fashioned way?" She knew it sounded stupid but it was the only thing she could think of.

He gave her a puzzled look, and then grinned. "Yeah I guess you can say that, did a lot of ranch work out west after the war."

"Which war?"

"All of 'em" He looked at her, his second sandwich in his hand.

"Seriously?" Suddenly it all was absurd to her.

"Civil War first, then Mexican American...I spent most of the time between One and Two in Europe and Asia. After Two I drifted back west for a while, learned some of the more modern and technological aspects, then went to 'Nam for a while."

"You were serious." She said, a slight chuckle escaping her lips. He grinned back.

"Well, you took that part rather well." He licked his fingers before reaching for the third sandwich.

"So...you are here...why?"

"I told ya' I got caught by a group of Friends of Humanity assholes over in the Dakotas, they had some watered down version of the Cure, cut my abilities back to what the high muckity mucks call a class one or two, I never worried much about classifications, although I've done my share of work tryin' ta classify others. Normally I'm off their charts, class five being highest they have. They kept me about a month, the FOH, used barbed whips, chains, knives..." He winced, "they did things to me that I frankly don't even want to think about."

"And you escaped?"

"They let me heal too long, I was able to move, to think. I managed to loosen one of the manacles and used it to hit the guard that came in to check on me, after that I don't remember much, but I know they won't ever follow me. The animal took care of that."

"Animal?"

"They call my class of mutant feral, we have animal senses, heightened sight, smell, hearing, healing and an almost animalistic part of our brain that can take over at times. To be honest mine was in control for a very long time. This is the first time in a long time that the two parts of me have been clearly divided in almost a century."

"So its like a split personality?"

"No, well for some of us it can be, those that try to tame the beast, that don't work with it, make it a part of them every day, like my brother. Me, I usually let mine be a part of me every day. It got pushed back by the shit they gave me and is just now startin' ta wake up."

"What does that mean?" She gripped her knees, wondering how he was going to change.

"Not much, really...I mean its been awake this whole time, I guess asleep was the wrong term, more like...filtered, not able ta take control, but I still have access to its instincts, its...I don't even know how ta describe it. I guess when a human knows someone's watchin' them, or that there is danger without knowin' what it is, its like that only a hellova' lot stronger."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with me, my ranch?"

"Well, I've been lookin for a place, even before those FOH bastards caught me, I need ta get back to what I am, and all this politics and insanity don't have any place for an animal like me. I needed the peace and quiet and frankly...care...ta heal, and get my mutation back to normal. It still ain't there yet and...God I'm glad that the animal is still filtered, because that part of me don't like the shit I'm about ta say."

"Why is that?"

"It don't like frail human shit, feelin's and shit. It thinks in animal terms, and I usually allow that ta control how I think. But I can't, not right now." He took the final bite of his sandwich and she was amazed at the difference in him. His hair had filled in and as he stood up to tend the small fire the blisters on his back were just more scars added to the welts that he'd carried since she'd first met him. He reached up and ripped the shirt off of his body, dropping the tatters in the flames.

"I ain't much ta look at, especially right now, but I can hunt, I can fish, I can take care of stock and any chores that need done around here. I want ta retire, leave the world behind me for a while, let myself heal, not just physically but in other ways that hurt deeper than anything those bastards did ta me." He turned and looked at her, pure agony on his face.

"I told you what I have to offer, and I'd love to have you around here to help, but if Darla's upping the stakes like this, I can't afford for you to get hurt."

"I got one more thing ta say, and then you've got some explaining to do." He snarled, stalking across the floor from the fireplace to where she was sitting. He knelt again and she blushed at how close his bare skin was to her hands. He put his finger under her chin, and lifted her head to look at him. "I ain't goin anywhere. I could get room and board at any ranch out here, but none of them offer what's keepin me here. That's a woman with a tight ass in a pair of work jeans, soft brown eyes that shed way too many tears, lips that beg to be kissed and a body that begs to be fucked, a woman that keeps me on my toes, and keeps me sane, a woman that, God help me and 'Tooth be damned, I am in love with." His lips didn't brush this time and she whimpered a bit as he took full possession of her mouth, his hands roaming over the soft fabric of her night gown as he pulled her against him on the floor.

"Now, Darlin' its your turn." He grinned and she felt the tips of his claws against her skin and the worn fabric of the gown give way as he ripped it from her body. His sharp intake of breath at seeing her skin made her eyes well with tears, knowing he was going to change his mind. He thought his body was scarred, he had nothing compared to hers.

"WHO THE HELL!" He roared, claws raking her body softly, brushing over each cut, each cigarette and cigar burn, each tear stitched closed, each bite mark and even the hoof marks on her back. Her legs were crisscrossed with thin scars made by riding crops and whips, and this was just on the outside.

"I was sixteen." She whispered, tears seeping under her closed eyes. "I went to a party at Darla's. I didn't know then how much she hated my family, she was just the most popular girl in school. My parents tried to stop me from going, grounding me, thinking I'd just obey and stay home, but I snuck out."

"Darlin'." He whispered, but she heard the controlled anger in his voice.

"She lured me out to the barn to see a new horse, I was looking him over when she hit him, caused him to rear up and stomp me. Then three of their ranch hands came out of the shadows, and they had whips and crops and they dragged me off to an empty stall." She froze she didn't want to relive what happened that night, not even with him. He pulled her against his body, and she whimpered, afraid he was going to leave.

"I don't need ta know the rest, its written on your skin." He whispered. "Tell me those bastards paid."

"They were convicted. Darla claimed she ran out after the horse went nuts to get help and had no idea what happened or what caused the horse to spook. She got off scot free, they all got life sentences, and two of them were killed in prison, the third was diagnosed with cancer and I was informed last week that he died in the prison infirmary." His hands were stroking up and down her back, soothing her, although she felt the fear of his leaving creating a tight knot in her gut.

"Darlin, I'm not going anywhere. I am here, and here I'm gonna stay until you throw my ass out, or die on me whichever comes first." He lifted her chin again with his knuckle and she opened her eyes to look into his. They were dark, she could see smoldering anger in them, but also, somehow she could see that he wasn't leaving. He kissed her again, gently but his hands let her know that he wasn't letting her slip away from him, gripping her hips as she knelt with him, then leaning her back, until his body covered hers like a blanket on the floor.

"Please...I can't" She whispered.

"Oh yes you can." He whispered, his hands stroking over her body, and his lips followed, kissing every scar, licking and nipping softly, stirring feelings inside her that she had never allowed herself to feel before. She was moaning inarticulately, unable to make sense of the growing feelings and sensations. She screamed when his lips brushed against a nipple, the puckering pulling scar tissue, causing pain. She whimpered as his rough tongue slipped over the tender spot, turning the twinge of pain into something soothing and yet frightening.

"Oh God, Darlin' you really don't want ta do that." He whispered as he kissed down her chest. "I'm tryin' real hard ta be good."

"Good?" She moaned.

"Fear...pain...arousal...talk about an aphrodisiac, and all 'Tooth wants ta do is mate." He growled against her skin, making her tremble even more. "Please try ta get one of them under control, because it hurts like hell tryin ta respond."

"I can't...not if you keep doing THAT!" She screamed the last word as he buried his head between her thighs, his tongue parting her lips and stroking her core, bringing her back arching off the floor. He took advantage, by slipping one claw up her body, grabbing the nipple that didn't twinge and stroking it lightly with the tip of the claw and then rolling the taunt flesh between his fingers. "VICTOR!" She screamed as the sensations wound so tightly inside her that she thought she'd burst apart, and then she did.

"Damn..." He moaned as he sat up, wiping his chin and grinning. "Darlin, I told you so."

"Victor..." She panted looking at him, her hand reaching for him. He covered her body again and she could feel him thick and hard against her. She trembled again as he reached between them and unfastened his jeans, in fear and anticipation. She wanted this, wanted him. He wasn't one of them, and she needed him. "I love you." she whispered the words as they formed in her mind and he leaned down, kissing her softly as one hand pulled one thigh up, giving him an easy angle to slip inside her body.

"Kathy, Darlin'..." He moaned, his jaw clenched and pain radiating from his body. "Tell me this is what you want, cuz it hurts like hell...but I ain't gonna be able ta stop..."

"Kiss me Victor, I need you, need this..." She whispered. "but if it hurts, then please stop, don't put yourself through pain for me."

"Too late." He moaned, sliding deep inside her. She heard his gasp and then hers joined his as he began to move. His head slipped against her shoulder, moaning and she felt something wet against her skin. She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to get him to look at her, but he wouldn't move his head. Her body was winding tight again, and yet something was holding her back. She needed to see him, see his face. She dug her fingers in, pulling until he finally looked at her. His face was a mixture of ecstasy and pain, and the moisture she'd felt was tears, although somehow she knew he'd never admit it. She leaned up and kissed him, her tears joining his as her body exploded again, his hands gripping her hips as he roared in his release. He collapsed on top of her, moaning.

"That was the most painful...and probably the best fucking orgasm I've ever had." He whispered.

"I just have one question." She panted back at him.

"Just one?" He grinned down at her as he leaned his head on his hand, elbow planted near her shoulder, still pinning her to the fire warmed wood floor with his body.

"Just who is 'Tooth?"

"Sabretooth." he growled. "The animal."

"Oh." She'd heard that name before...once.

"Is that a problem?"

"After this, no." She grinned at him.

"Good. Now I have several questions..." He grinned down at her and she felt him trying to move again inside her. She moaned...and his grin widened. "One, why the hell did you pawn an Olympic Gold Medal for only three hundred bucks? Two, What the hell are we gonna' do about the bitch tryin' ta kill us? and Three, Will you marry me?"

"One...I needed the money for a vet bill, and how did you find out about that? Two, I have no idea but if we still have the bomb maybe we can actually find evidence to have her arrested, and three Absolutely."

He stood up, slipping gently from her body and she moaned, feeling suddenly alone. She watched as he slipped the singed jeans off his body and realized that many of the scars had healed, as well as his muscle tone was more defined and thicker than it had been this morning. He picked up the saddlebags from where he'd dumped them next to the sofa and spilled them on the blanket next to her body.

"I think those are yours." He said softly, as he reached down and picked up a distinctive red white and blue ribbon with a gold disk on the end. He reached up over the mantle and found a nail in the stone of the fireplace and looped the ribbon around it. "And that stays there, woman." He growled at her.

She looked up at him, standing there like a vengeful god, and she realized he wasn't the guardian angel she'd started to think of him as...he was much worse, and infinitely better.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Some of those were hard to get back...but I managed, and without spilling any blood, and I hope you know how hard that was for me." He glared at her.

"Victor..."

"I ain't promisin' not ta kill anyone or anything...probably only game for a long while, but I'm gonna have a visitor from the government soon, if he comes when I'm not here, stay in the house and don't let the bastard touch you. He fancies himself a ladies man and doesn't always take no for an answer."

"Like you?"

He growled, and then grinned at her. "Hey, you're mine...no one else is allowed not ta take no for an answer."

"I'll take that as 'Tooth agreeing with you then." She grinned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Damn her, she had him figured out already. 'Tooth did agree with him. She was his mate, soon to be his wife, and he didn't want anyone hurting her, even himself. He stalked across the floor from the fireplace and knelt next to her on the blanket, picking through the trophy cups, jewelry, pieces of heirloom silver and gold that had kept this ranch running until he got here.

"I need you ta understand somethin' Darlin'." He sat down, stroking her naked thigh. Somehow sitting here, in front of the fire, naked and having just fucked her till she screamed his name felt right. "Money is no object here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I got an arsenal of weapons at my disposal, but I think the legal route against the bitch ain't gonna hurt her bad enough to make up for these." He stroked a lengthened claw along one long scar on her thigh. "I think I'm gonna have ta use the biggest weapon I got."

"What is that?"

"My bank account." He grinned at her.

"Either that is ego, or I guess I won't have to worry about winning the entry fee for the Kentucky Derby this year."

"Darlin' if you want to race horses in the Derby, by God we'll race horses in the Derby, hell I'll buy you the Triple Crown if you want." She glared at him. "Okay I'll buy you the chance to compete for it anyway." He laughed. He probably could buy the races but she'd probably try to kill him, and he didn't want her knowing, yet, that she was the only thing that could hurt him, now that his mutation was almost completely back to normal.

"So how much are we talking about? A couple million?" She was being practical as she stroked a trophy. He knew that particular race track, he'd bet on more than a few quarter horses there.

"Higher...much higher, Darlin'." He grinned, leaning down and kissing the end of her nose, then licking it with his rough tongue.

"I don't think I want to know." She blanched and he grinned wider.

"Money is no object, and I'm gonna use all my resources ta ruin that bitch for the rest of her life...slowly, and she's gonna know who's doing it, and have ta grin and take it." Her eyes sparked, and then flared, and he knew she was going to enjoy what he planned just as much as he would.


	5. Chapter 5

She was in the kitchen when she heard the car pull up to the house. She heard voice outside and knew there was a problem. Victor actually rarely yelled, and she'd learned what his voice sounded like when he was angry and right now he was purely pissed.

"...told you, I don't want to see you. I'm retired and I'm NOT interested in doing any special 'projects." She looked out the window and saw him talking to a man with an eye patch. She moved quietly, slipping up the stairs and into her father's room. It had barely been touched since he died. She couldn't bring herself, even after three years to put his things away. She kept expecting him to come stomping in at any moment.

She pulled the shotgun down from the rack, and loaded it with bird shot. Whoever was threatening Victor was going to get a double load in his ass if he didn't leave.

She slipped down the stairs again, and moved to the front door. The two men were still arguing and she opened the front door and stood on the porch, shotgun aimed at Eye-Patch.

"Now I don't know who the hell you are, but if you don't get the fuck off my land and leave my man alone you're gonna have an assload of birdshot ta pick out of your ass."

Victor spun to glare at her, but his look of shock was enough to convince her she'd done the right thing.

"You got to the count of three, mister. ONE...TWO...THREE." He jumped into the car at two but she still unloaded the shotgun on the side of his car. "AND DON'T COME BACK!"

She felt Victor move onto the porch but she didn't take her eyes off the retreating car, even as she reloaded the shotgun.

"I had it under control." He said as he moved to stand next to her.

"I'm sure you did, but this is my home and no government asshole is gonna threaten my family...not while I've got a gun in my hand." She said.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Darlin, I do believe you would...and I don't think Fury will be back any time soon. He was muttering somethin about crazy women and needing backup as he got in the car."

She laughed and put the gun down. "I'll just leave this next to the door, in case he does."

Victor slipped an arm around her waist. "I just got one question, darlin'. You up ta goin' into town this afternoon?"

"Sure am."

"Good, we need ta take care of some business quick."

"What business?" She looked up at him confused as she opened the front door and leaned the shotgun against the wall just inside.

"Well, I need ta get you on my bank accounts, for one, and I'd kinda like ta make things legal, if ya don't mind?" 

"Legal?"

"You and me..." He said, and she could see he was conflicted about something.

"Get married?" She said.

"Yeah, that." He seemed relieved that he hadn't had to say the word.

"Is that what you really want? I mean, with your life span...marriage is a long time to be stuck with someone while they grow old and die."

"Fuck that, I don't want to miss a moment with you, Kathy. 'Tooth growls about havin ta do the human thing, you're his mate, and part of me feels the same. I mean you're mine, I don't need no piece of paper to tell me so." He pulled her tight against his body. "But...banks and shit need it so...do you mind takin care of it today?"

"No, not a bit...and I like the whole 'his mate' thing." She whispered. He grinned and leaned down, picking her up over his shoulder and carried her across the yard. She laughed as he opened the door to his truck and half tossed her inside. She looked at him, in her father's favorite leather vest and jeans, a simple shirt underneath and grinned.

"What's the rush?" She giggled.

"I just realized, if we get married then we get a wedding night." He grinned as he climbed into the driver's side of the truck. She laughed. They hadn't had any sleep yet, he'd made love to her several times over the night, and they'd talked the rest of the time. He'd told her about his life, and hadn't hidden anything. There had been times she'd almost been afraid, but she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, not now, not since he'd claimed her as his.

The ride into town was uneventful, but she got more nervous as they passed the first cluster of newer homes.

"Somethin' you want ta tell me, Darlin'?" He said softly

"I just don't like going...even after all these years it reminds me of the trial, of being on display and looked at like a freak." She said softly.

"You are not a freak, a survivor with the scars to prove it, every one of them a badge of honor that you didn't give up, give in...and anyone who calls you a freak can deal with my claws." He growled the last and she laughed. It didn't settle her unease, however and she slipped her hands under her thighs to keep from biting her nails. He'd run all the errands lately and her fingernails were finally starting to grow.

He pulled up in front of the bank, and walked around to open her door. Three different women all waved and greeted him by name. She cringed, but steeled her chin and let him help her out of the truck.

"Gotta get some cash." He said as he headed into the bank. She stayed close behind him, she hated going to the bank, she always cried when she had to borrow more money. The thought reminded her of her loans that were outstanding and she hoped she had enough money in her account to make the payment.

"Mr. Creed, nice to see you again." Michelle was a perky young girl, barely out of high school, and Kathy didn't mind dealing with her, she didn't remember the 'incident' and was usually nice and pleasant. "Ms. Davis."

Victor leaned on the counter and smiled at the girl. "Needin' some cash, Darlin'."

"Now, Mr. Creed, you can't keep withdrawing like this, I'll have to get my manager again." She giggled as she looked at the withdrawal slip he handed her. Kathy rolled her eyes. God he was a flirt. He looked back over his shoulder and winked at her.

Anna, the manager came over, and keyed an approval code into the computer. She glared at Kathy but didn't say anything. "There you are, Mr. Creed." She was coolly polite to Victor as well.

"Thanks, Anna,"

"It will be just a moment, the vault is in count down." Anna said.

"We can wait. Can you check and see if that wire I was expecting ever showed up?" He had turned back to Michelle.

"There was a wire, yesterday but it wasn't from the Bahamas like you expected, it came from Bac Swiss." She looked at him funny, offshore accounts?

"Thank you, was it in the right amount?"

"No, about three hundred short." Kathy could feel the growl where she stood.

"Okay, I'll take care of it, everything else is okay, right."

"Yes, Mr. Creed." He pulled away from the counter and walked over to a plush waiting area, and made them both a cup of coffee. She sat down with him while they waited.

"You're that upset about three hundred dollars." She asked quietly.

"No, Darlin', I'm that upset about three hundred thousand dollars." He said calmly.

"Three hundred..." She gulped.

XXXXXXXXXX

He watched her fidget at the bank while they waited for the withdrawal. He wanted to make sure she understood that everything he had was hers, and that damned job in Marrakesh not paying off in full had him pissed. Right now, he needed every penny, he was going to run that damned bitch into the ground.

And speak of the devil, there she was.

"Kathy, I heard about the fire, are you okay? Do you need anything?" He gripped her hand, making sure she didn't claw the bitch's eyes out.

"No, we managed to keep the fire contained to the bunk house...Victor just moved into the house with me, until we can get it rebuilt. The horses are just fine." He smiled, her voice was smooth, no hint of what they were planning, no hint she suspected Darla of starting the fires.

"So I guess you're here to try to borrow more money? You know my offer is still open, three million for the whole thing, and you'll be set for life. I'll even hire you to train my horses." He wanted to claw the smirk off her face.

"No, actually, Victor was just withdrawing some money so we can get married." Kathy smiled. "The fire really sped things up. Victor is the best thing that could have happened to me and the Lazy D." He could smell the anger, even though she managed to keep it from showing on her face.

"Well I guess congratulations are in order." She smiled and shook Kathy's hand, and then reached for his. He barely kept his claws to a undetectable length, wanting to rip her arm off, but he smiled and let her walk away. He looked at Kathy and could see the fire smoldering in her eyes.

"Mr. Creed, your withdrawal is ready." Anna said as she walked up, a bank bag in her hand. Victor opened it and took out the three bricks of one hundred dollar bills and slipped them into his inside vest pocket.

"Thank you, Anna. We'll be back in a bit to add Mrs. Creed to my accounts." He winked at the manager and she glanced at Kathy with disbelief.

"Certainly Mr. Creed."

He took Kathy's elbow as they left the bank and walked across the street. The small jewelry store didn't have a large selection, but he managed to find a ring that would do until he could get the contents of his deposit boxes from the accounting firm. They asked if he wanted to finance it, but he just put the cash on the counter. The girl stuttered, but rang up the purchase as Kathy looked at the ring on her finger.

"Are you kidding me...this could feed the horses for a month."

"Darlin' quit worrying about feeding the horses. I need ta make a phone call before we head to the courthouse." He slipped outside. She walked out behind him and sat on a bench.

"Toad?" The voice on the other end said.

"You still lookin ta get out of the rat race?" Victor asked.

"Yeah...why?"

"You ever done any ranchin?"

"A time or two. Why?"

"We need some hands, payin room and board and 1200 a month, if you round up anyone else." Victor could hear the intake of breath on the other end.

"I've got a couple...literally, they don't want ta get into the mutant war, got a bun in the oven, just lookin for a quiet place ta hide and have the kid."

"Perfect. Bring them with you and get your ass here."

"Does here have a name?"

"Lazy D Ranch, use the GPS tracker on my phone."

He looked over at Kathy but she was sitting clutching her hands. He could smell her nerves, and knew it wasn't the upcoming ceremony. He put his hand over the microphone on the phone. "Baby, its okay, I've got it covered, really." She smiled slightly and he just shook his head, and spoke into the phone again. "Frails, never can figure out I have money, I have no idea why?"

He could hear the other mutant laughing. "Did you just say Baby?"

"Shut the fuck up and get your ass here NOW!" He roared the last into the phone, then snapped it shut.

"Sorry, Mortimer's a bit of a card." He sat down next to her and unclenched her hands to take one in his. "I promise, I will take care of everything."

"I just...every time you do something I keep wondering how we're going to pay for it." She whispered.

"I told you, money is no object, now let's get the easy part done."

"What easy part?"

"The part where I tell you I'm going to be there til death do us part." He kissed her gently.

"Oh, that part." She smiled then and he knew she was going to adjust.

They walked down the street hand in hand to the courthouse, where they walked in to the clerk's office to register for a marriage license.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Creed, but I need a birth certificate." The clerk said. He wanted to growl at the frail.

"This IS my birth certificate." He handed her the worn piece of paper, simply a document from the town's parson stating date and time of birth and his parents names.

"I'm sorry but there is no way you were born in 1830." The look the clerk gave him was pure skepticism.

"Let me show you somethin' Darlin'..." He said softly, rolling up his sleeve and running his claws down his arm. "I'm a mutant, healing, it heals age too...yes I was born in 1830." He snarled the last.

"I'll have to get the judge to accept this before I can issue a license." He just shook his head, wanting to pound it on the desk.

"Charlie." Kathy said as a man came in from the back.

"Hello, little Kitty." He walked up to the counter. "What's the problem?"

"This man claims to have been in 1830." The frail handed him the paper.

"Victor Creed...that name is familiar."

"Charlie, please, we just want to get married." Kathy said putting her hand on the older man's arm.

"Issue the license. My god-daughter wants to get married. Come on into my office, if you don't mind your 'uncle' performing the ceremony."

"God-father?"

"Yes, Judge Andrews is my God-father."

"Well that helps." He grinned as they signed the paperwork. The clerk wasn't happy, putting his date of birth on it, but she did.

The judge's office was filled with photographs, and Kathy was in a lot of them. Her on horseback, her receiving medals and trophies. He noticed the change in the pictures. The younger ones she seemed carefree, her clothing open at the neck, skirts and blouses with feminine cuts and shapes. Then only jeans and flannel shirts buttoned to the throat in the older pictures. He slipped an arm around her.

"So you want to marry my Kathy. Would you tell me why an assassin, probably the best and highest paid assassin in the world wants to marry my girl?"

He looked the older man in the eye and mentally punched Sabretooth in the gut. "I love her." He felt the snarl in the back of his throat, and swallowed it. 'Tooth wasn't going to mess this up, not now. 

"Well...do you know who he is?" He asked Kathy.

"Yes, he's told me everything." She said, and he was even more sure of his choice of a mate.

"Well then, boy, do you have any religious preference, or just a simple ceremony." He hit a buzzer on the desk and his assistant came in the office.

"Just something simple, Charlie." Kathy said.

"Then if you'll stand here, and you here, young man." Victor followed the instructions, trying not to smile at being called young man.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to join this man and this woman in matrimony..." the judge began to read from his book and Victor listened to every word, stating his agreement at the right moment, and watching her eyes as she gave him hers. As soon as their lips met, 'Tooth let out a roar inside him, claiming her as his for the rest of her life, and Victor smiled, agreeing with that animal side of him. She was his, and nothing could take her away now.


	6. Chapter 6

He watched as the chopper landed in the field. They'd have to hide it, but he wasn't going to complain about having it. Toad always has some kind of escape route planned in advance. Kathy was still asleep and he wanted to get the chopper stowed before she woke up.

"Hey, 'Tooth.". Mort waved from the chopper as the blades slowed to a stop. Victor noticed the kids sitting in the back seat. Toad jumped down from the pilot's door and rushed around to open the passenger door. A young girl with bright green hair jumped out and grabbed Toad's arm as she leaned over and heaved on the ground. The boy jumped out and tried to comfort her.

"I am never getting into one of those things again." She said as she wiped her mouth and tried to stand. Victor noticed her belly and remembered Toad's comment about a bun in the oven. He walked over and the boy actually looked at him and growled.

"Victor Creed." He held his hand out to the kid.

"Josh Green, Abby Green, my wife." He said, sniffing the air before taking Victor's hand.

"You got ranching experience?"

"No but I'm willing to learn, as long as its quiet and Abby can rest and concentrate on having the baby." Josh said, releasing Victor's hand slowly.

"Right now its about twenty head of horses, I'm gonna bring in cattle and sheep again in the spring, but I don't want to winter them with the limited supplies. My wife..." Toad gasped and then doubled over laughing "has been running this place by herself and concentrated only on the horses. Most of the winter will be basic, feed the animals make sure they're exercised through the winter, she's a trainer and these are some of her prize stock."

"Horses I know. Animal empathy is my mutation, and I was working in County Kerry at the tracks with the horses." Josh suddenly grinned. Victor let out a grin, he was going to like this boy.

"Abby was a jockey, but she can't ride right now, and it's going to be a while for her to get back into riding trim after the baby." Victor looked over at Toad, puzzled.

"Okay green butt, how'd you know we needed horse people?" He growled.

"I didn't, honest, I met the kids in London. They'd had ta leave Ireland due to the mutant shit, and were livin' on the dole. I offered them tha chance ta come with me, and they jumped at it, especially with the money you were offerin'." Mort was leaning on the chopper, wiping his foot.

"What the hell is this?" He hadn't heard her walk up behind him and cringed.

"Mine." Toad said, glaring at Kathy.

"Victor, can I talk to you?"

"Baby, its his - won't cost us a thing, I promise." He turned and pulled her against his chest.

"BABY!" Mort leaned over laughing.

"Do I need to load shells for him too." She glared up at Victor.

"You'll get used to it, and he's got experience - and the helicopter comes with him." He rubbed her back, pressing her closer against him. She looked over and noticed Abby for the first time.

"How far along are you?" She asked, pushing away from Victor and giving him a glare over her shoulder as she moved to the young woman.

"About twenty seven weeks." Abby said, pulling defensively against Josh.

"The bunk house burned down two days ago, you're just going to have to stay at the house, the clown can bunk in the barn with the horses till we can get something decent up for you." Kathy held her hand out to the girl.

"You don't mind that we're mutants?"

"Honey - look at who I'm married to and ask me that question again." Kathy said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb at Victor. The girl grinned a little.

"I understand you have horses?" Abby said, her Irish brogue becoming thicker with her excitement.

"Kathy Davis, and yes I've got horses." He watched as the girl took her hand and shook it, her face going from cautious acceptance to all out worship.

"You're Kathy Davis, this is THE Lazy D...oh my God, I've ridden your horses before."

"Really?"

"Abby McCullagh Green." She said.

"Oh my...young lady you are welcome to stay as long as you want." Kathy suddenly pulled the girl into a hug. Victor just shrugged, horse people.

They all walked back to the house. He and Kathy had made arrangements after the wedding for a contractor to come out and give them an estimate on the bunk house, but under these circumstances he had a feeling they'd be building another house as well. He had a feeling Josh and Abby were there to stay.

He fell back and watched as Kathy and the kids detoured to the barn to look at the stock.

"Wife? Tell me you're fucking joking?" Mort said, serious finally.

"Nope. Wife, til death do us part, and that better be a fucking long time away." He growled.

"YOU, married?" Toad said, placing a hand on his arm. "Is that wise, with the war comin'...and she's human, Mags will have a fit."

"Mags can fuck himself, I'm done, I think I'll sit this war out." He said.

"What about them - do you think they'll just let you retire?"

"Well, if Fury comes back he'd better bring backup, my wife nearly filled his ass with birdshot...and did fill his car with it." Victor said, still grinning about that. "And if my idiot brother and his friends show up, well I'll defend my home to the death, theirs."

"Your home?" Mort said, looking around the ranch. Victor looked at it with new eyes, eyes that saw it as his, as home, safety, security, peace. The house needed a coat of paint, the barn wasn't in bad shape since he'd replaced the shingles and reworked the forge. The shed was falling apart, but the tractor was running again, he'd just have the contractor build them a vehicle barn big enough for the chopper and some new farm equipment. The chicken coop was going to have to be enlarged and more pullets bought in the spring. The piglets were almost ready for slaughter, but they'd have to get a boar in to have some for next year when the sow went into heat again. He was considering buying one to keep on hand, it wouldn't hurt them to have several litters of piglets.

"Yes, Toad, my home, my wife, and its the best thing that's ever happened to me." Toad grunted, but nodded.

"I just hope that wife of yours can cook, I'm starved."

"Why the fuck do you think I married her, I could have had the ass any time...but I wasn't givin' up her cooking." He said as they came up on the other three. Kathy looked back at him and grinned, and he remembered exactly why he married her, she was his.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Dinner was insane. She'd cooked for Victor's healing factor and it was a good thing or they'd have run out of food. As it was they laughed well into the evening. Abby was a joy to be around once she relaxed and for the first time in a long time Kathy relaxed with another woman. She wished her other friend could be here, but she hadn't heard from her in years.

"...so then I took tha outside, they never knew he could take the open track like that, and we'd have taken the race, too if the damned Arabian hadn't come from behind and passed us." Abby was saying.

Kathy listened raptly. She rode, but had never been able to ride at the levels Abby had. She'd actually been surprised at her mutation, it had nothing to do with horses or riding, she was a water breather. She was clearing plates when she heard the phone ring.

"Hello." She heard Victor say. "Just a second." She could hear the barely contained rage in his voice.

He thrust the phone at her, and somehow she knew the rage was directed at her. She didn't know why.

"Hello."

"Kathy, Its Ororo. Who answered the phone?"

"My husband, Victor." She said, sitting down next to the phone. He was snarling and growling now.

"Do you...it can't...he nearly..." Ororo was stuttering.

"Ro, sweetie, I know who he is, I love him, and we're married. I've already taken pot shots at government idiots who wanted to take him away from me, don't think I'll hesitate to shoot my friends." She said firmly. He stopped mid growl, and just glared at her.

"He's a..."

"Don't start, Ro. I called you to see if you had any kids who were interested in riding, I need to train a jockey over the winter."

"Actually, we don't...exactly. I have a girl here, her sister is horse crazy, and small. She's one of the rare ones who's parents are supportive, and came to visit this week. I can ask them if they'd consider letting her train, but I HAVE to be able to tell them she'll be safe."

"Ro, she'll be safer here than anywhere, is she a mutant?"

"No, at least not that we've been able to tell."

"Good, mutants can't ride the Derby." Kathy said. She glared at Victor and he actually backed down.

"I'll ask her parents, and I'm coming for a visit. I want to make sure you're safe. I'm bringing friends." Ro said firmly. Victor started growling again.

"Fine, but if you cause any problems on my ranch Ro, I'll fill you all with rock salt." Kathy said firmly. "Victor's my husband, deal with it."

"I don't have any idea..."

"That's right, you DON'T, so don't even try lecturing me. I love him, and he loves me, just the way I am, scars and all, so don't you EVER lecture me about him." She heard Ro bite back whatever she was going to say.

"Fine, but I'm bringing friends, and a doctor to make sure you're alright."

"Good, I've got a young lady here who could probably use a pre natal visit."

"What?"

"Some friends of a friend of Victor's, Abby's pregnant, and I want her checked out. She'll be helping me train a jockey."

"Abby...McCullagh? She disappeared from Ireland two years ago with a Josh Green, an animal empath?"

"Well they're here, safe and sound and hired on as hands for the ranch."

"How the hell are you paying for all this...never mind, CREED is." She heard a strange sound in the back ground that sounded like Victor growling, but he was standing next to her.

"Logan, not now." She heard Ro say.

"I'm going to have to go and explain." they both said simultaneously.

Kathy hung up the phone.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THE X-MEN?" he roared.

"I know Ororo Monroe, we used to ride Dressage together." She said, standing up and glaring at him. "She's my FRIEND! One of the few I've got and YOU are going to be NICE when she comes or you'll be picking rock salt out of your hide, Victor Creed."

He growled at her, grabbing both her arms and shaking her. "Those people want to kill me, Kathy."

"Well if they want to come on my land they can leave that shit at the gate." She snarled back.

"SHIT!" He growled and dropped her, and stormed out the front door. She followed him, not letting him walk out on her.

"Why shit? Would you have changed your mind if you'd known she was my friend? Hell there's enough pictures of us around here, all you had to do was LOOK!"

He grabbed her and crushed her to him, his mouth devouring hers, not taking any hesitation from her. She moaned, her body not ready to fight him, not when he'd shown her more than anyone in her life.

"You make me crazy woman." He growled. "and I'm not pissed at you, hell I'm not even pissed she's your friend. I'm PISSED that our first FIGHT had to be about the fucking X-MEN and not something more important."

She looked at him, and he cracked a small smile, she smiled back and soon they were both laughing, wrapped together in the porch swing. She heard Toad come to the door and mutter "damn, 'Tooth's gone nutters."


End file.
